Page 88 of Wicked Promises
Shame flushes through me, and I go to her. Cradle her head against my chest. “I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault.”
She grabs my shirt, holding me close. “I don’t want to die.”
“You’re not going to.” I shake my head. We know the connecting pieces—it’s only Unknown who is still a mystery. But who’s pulling their strings isn’t. “You’re coming with me. I’m sure they’ll let you.”
“You want to bring her home?” Lenora asks, coming up the stairs. “Honestly, that’s… not a bad idea.”
“You’d let me go?” Margo goes to her foster mom and takes her hands. “I almost don’t want to leave, but?—”
“This house doesn’t quite feel safe, does it?” She sighs. “Not the warm and fuzzy night we had planned. The detective said we’re free to start cleaning the room, so I’m going to have a service come in tomorrow. Anything you want to salvage?”
Margo’s nose wrinkles. “I don’t think I can go in there.”
“I will,” I say. “I’ll see if anything is… untouched.”
I slip back into the room, closing myself in. Once the fresh air is sealed off, the dead bird smell fills the air. It’s a wonder the whole house doesn’t smell like it.
I grab the tipped-over trash bin and dump out the liner, using it as a barrier to scoop the bird into. Poor sucker. It appears to have had a quick, painless death. Hell, maybe Unknown stumbled upon it and just brought it in here.
Sure beats the alternative.
Her clothes look undisturbed in the dresser until I pull them out. Holes have been cut in the fabric of her shirts, her jeans have been cut, but whoever did it folded them back up.
One morefuck youtoward Margo, apparently.
We aren’t just dealing with someone who wanted to mess with Margo.
Somehow, she’s made them mad. Worse than mad.
I ball my fists and walk out, giving her a quick shake of my head. “They ruined everything.”
She exhales slowly, leaning against the wall.
“I called Dad,” Eli says. “He okayed her return once I explained what happened.”
“You have the knife, Margo?” Liam asks.
She nods.
“Good.”
I roll my eyes. “Let’s hope she doesn’t have to use it, yeah? Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Downstairs, we wait by the door while Margo says her goodbyes. It’s hard to watch. She latches on to Robert and doesn’t let go for a long while, and he doesn’t force it. In fact, his eyes are closed, and he hugs her just as tightly.
The crash affected them more than physically.
“Margo,” Lenora says. “We’ll pick you up at eight to go into school. The principal wanted to make sure we were on the same page about your schoolwork.”
She nods, biting her lip.
I want to touch her.
Shield her from all this shit.
God, I was an idiot for ever wanting to break this beautiful, strong girl. She stands tall even as her world crumbles around her, while people are out to get her. In the face of tragedy and anger, she’s collected.
If I had it my way, I’d take her far, far away. To somewhere no one could hurt her. We’d live a happy life away from literally everyone. Have outrageous sex everywhere, get her pregnant, marry her—maybe not quite in that order.